Geoege d



Gfn. SPOONBR. Canceling Stamp.

(No Model.)

'Patented .lune 29', `IIS-8O.,-

i UN'ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE..

GEORGE D. SPOONER, OF RUTLAND, VERMONT.

CANCELlNG-STAM P.

SPECIFICATION forming partof Letters Patent No. 229,282, dated June 29, 1880. Application filed May 12, 1880. (No model.)

To all whom tt may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE D. Sroonna, a citizen of the United States, residing at Rutland, in the county of Rutland and State of Vermont, have invented a new and useful Cancelin g-Stamp, of which the following is a specitication.

My invention relates to an improvement in hand-stamps which have a rotating cutter, said cutter being turned by a downward pressure upon the handle of the stamp, and thus cutting out portions of the postagestamp in the act of rotation.

The improvement is applicable to stamps which either mark and cancel, or simply cancel, the stamps of mail or internal revenue matter.

The objects of my improvements are, first, to provide a solid center cutter having cuttinglips formed on its convex lower end in the peculiar manner hereinafter described; second, to provide a chamber in the lower end of the stamp-head, below the center cutter, in connection with a chamber in the upper end of said head and a cutter-shank which is allowed to move upward in the head as the handle recedes from the matter which has been canceled, whereby the cancelin g-cutter is kept from contact with the inkin g pad or bed which inks the postofce marker and said cutter is prevented from interfering with the inking of the said marker; third, to provide a gage-stop upon the rotating screw-shank of the center cutter and a spring in the head of the stamp beneath said gage-stop, whereby the downward movement of the center cutter independently of the handle of the stamp is controlled and said cutter returned to its normal position in the chamber at the bottom of the head; fourth, `to provide an externally-threaded cutter-shank, a nut which slides but does not revolve, and a guide or guides which form a loose sliding connection between the handle of the stamp and the head thereof, said head and thescrew-threaded shank being coupled together by the ange-extension of the center cutter, whereby the handle proper of the stamp can be depressed and the cutter revolved without any rotary movement being imparted to the said handle; fifth, to provide adjusting stop or check nuts on the screwthreaded shank of the cutter, in connection with the sliding nut which rotates the center cutter, whereby the extent of upward movement of the handle is controlled and a separation of the head from the guide or guides of the han-` dle proper prevented; sixth, to provide a stamp which combines a hollow handle, a tubular screw threaded cuttershank Vwith ilanged center cutter at its lower end, a central mainspring for relieving the hand of the operator in operating the stamp and for returning the handle to its normal position, a sliding nut which does not revolve, adjusting stop-nuts, a guide or guides, a cutter-head chambered at top and bottom, andan auxiliary spring, whereby a very simple and effective canceling-stamp is produced, and which will cnt away portions of a postage or other stamp without cutting through the letter on which the stamp is placed.

I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a vertical longitudinal section of a combined cancelingstamp and post-office marker with my improvements applied to it, and showing the shank of the cutter, with the cutter in elevation, Vall the parts being in normal position. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same, the shank of the cutter and the cutter being sectioned. All the parts arein their operating or abnormal position. ,Fig 3 is a bottom view of the combined stamp and 'marker5 and Fig.A 4: is a perspective view of the canceling-cutter in an inverted position.

Similar letters in all the views refer to corresponding parts.

A represents the ordinary headof a postofice marker; B, the horizontal top bar of a canceling-stamp, to which the head A and the canceling-stamp head C are united. The head G is tubular, and at the lower end of its central bore, a, a chamber, a', is formed by counterboring from thev bottom upward a short distancesay just equal to the up-and-down movement imparted to the cutter of the stamp. rI wo similar enlargements of the central bore, a, are made at the top of the head C, as indicated by the letters b b', the chamber formed at b beingof greater diameter than that formed IOO at b. All of the chambers present square or dat shoulders.

Within the head C a cutter.; shank, D, is

l parts are in the position placed so as to revolve freely; and into the lower end of this shank a canceling-cutter, c, is screwed, its flange c abutting' against the shoulder of the chamber a', and thereby preventing the shank drawing' upward out of the head G. 0n the shank, just at the top ofthe head C, a gage-stop, d, is fitted, and this stop justs fits the chamber b of the head in a hori- Zontal plane, but is of less depth than said chamber. Beneath this stop, in the chamber b, a spiral spring', d', is placed, it resting' upon the shoulder of chamber b, and bearing' upward against the stop d.

The shank D is made tubular from top to bottom, and below the top of the stop d it is plain-surfaced eXteriorly, and above the stop it is slightly enlarged in diameter, and provided on its exterior with aquick screw-thread, D, and afiner and less quick thread, D2. On the screw-threaded portion D a sliding nut, E, is fitted, so as to allow the shank to work freely through it; and above this nut check or stop nuts c e are fitted upon the shank, and their altitude will be in respect to the length of the screw-thread D or the movement of the nut up or down. The sliding' nut is g'uided and prevented from turning by rods f, which are fastened to iianges ofthe nut, and extended down loosely through the bar or plate B, as shown.

Within the shank D a spring, F, having a plu g-stem, F', fitted in it, is placed, and around the upper part of the shank and spring' a hollow handle, G, is placed, being screwed to the upper outside surface of the sliding nut, as shown. The cap or upper end of this handle Just touches the cone end of the plug-stem F ofthe spring' F when the parts are in the position shown inl Fig. I, but it bears with a great resisting force against said cap when the shown in Fig. 2.

The central cutter, c, is formed somewhat similar to the end of a hollow auger, but the shoulders which form the cutters are solid, instead of forming gers. The shoulders begin at the apex ofthe cone of the cutter, and gradually increase in depth on an incline until they terminate in the periphery of the cutter. There are two shoulders of this construction-one facing the right and the other the left, on the respective sides of the center of the cutter. In cutting with the stamp the apex of the inverted-cone cutter is embedded first into the stamp, and the cutting-edges cut into the paper in an upwardly-inclining direction, and by this means the letter beneath the stamp is saved from being` cut into and injured.

The operation of the stamp is as follows: The markerA is inked while the cutter cis up in its chamber a. The stamp and marker are forcibly brought down together upon the letter being marked and canceled by striking the hand upon the handle. This action causes the cutter c to descend a little below the bottom of the head C before the screw D' is turned volve,

openings, as in such au- I by the nut E 5 but the instant that the compara-tively weak spring d is overcome by the first impact or force upon the handle of the stamp the handle depresses the nut E, and this causes the cutter and its shank to reand the cutter in its movement shaves or bores off portions of the stamp beneath it. On releasing the handle from the operators hand the spring d draws up the cutter c into its ehambera, and simultaneously the stronger spring F draws the nut E and handle G from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that shown in Fig. l, the upward movement being arrested by the check-nuts e e. In the up-and-down movements of the nut E the guidesff steady it and prevent it from turning.

In constructing the stamp the handle may be formed partly of metal and partly of wood, and it may be ofany desired shape. rlhe guiderods j' might be substituted by a square-sided boX entering recesses in the plate B, and the cutter might be formed solid with the shank D; and in the chamber a, outside the ange c of the cutter, a piece of cork, india-rubber, orother inking-surface may be fitted for the purpose of having the cutter-head cancel by both cutting and blotting.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The canceling stamp provided with a cutter, c, the cutting-edges of which are formed on an invertedcone point and on shoulders which increase in depth from the center to.

the circumference of the cutter, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The head C, provided with the chamber c', in combination with a central turning and sliding cutter having a iiang'e, c, substantially as and for the purposev described.

IOO

3. rlhe gage-stop d, in combination withl the head (l, cutter-shank D, and spring d', substantially as and for the purpose described.

4. The head C, chambered at top and pro- `vided with a spring', in combination with a central turning and sliding' cutter, a nut which slides, and a guide attached to the nut, substantially as and for the purpose described.

5. The head C, chambered at top and bottom and provided with a spring in its top chamber, in combination with a central turning and sliding cutter, a nut which slides, a guide attached to the nut, and jam-nuts e e, which are adjustable, substantially as and for the purpose described.

6. The combination, in a canceling-stamp, ofthe hollow handle G, tubular screw-threaded cutter-shank D D', flanged center cutter, c c', central mainspring, F, sliding nut E, stop or check nuts e e', guide j', a cutter-head chambered as at c', b b', and the auxiliary spring el', substantially as and for the purpose described.

GEORGE D, SPOONER.

E. F. M. BUTLER.

IIO 

